Ji Mingwei couldn't believe at first that they had actually failed;
Then came uncontrollable rage: how could such a perfect plan have failed?!
But failure is failure. She told herself she couldn't dwell on it and had to find a solution as soon as possible. Otherwise, not only would Prince Xuan be doomed, but she would also be doomed, as they were bound together by fate.
...
As dusk fell, the Zichen Palace was bathed in the glow of the setting sun, and in the dim light, the emperor paced back and forth on the high platform.
The officials below, seeing this, couldn't help but feel anxious as well.
With that incident just last night, and this morning we learned that Princess Huaiming has gone missing and her whereabouts are unknown. She has not been found yet. How can the Emperor be in a good mood?
Some officials speculated: "Did the bandits kidnap Princess Huaiming while they were breaking into the prison last night?"
One of the ministers immediately said in a deep voice, "Although your guess makes some sense, you should stop guessing!"
The princess was perfectly fine in the palace, but she was kidnapped by bandits. If this got out, wouldn't the whole world laugh at her?
Besides, if a young lady were truly kidnapped by bandits, could she still maintain her innocence? If Princess Huaiming's reputation were ruined, it wouldn't just be her face that would be lost, but the entire royal family's face!
Therefore, even though everyone felt that there was a high possibility that Princess Huaiming had been kidnapped by bandits, no one dared to speculate any further.
After all, the emperor's face was now very dark, as if a storm was brewing.
The emperor also had this suspicion, but he desperately told himself that it was impossible!
If bandits had entered the palace, the guards would have known. And Princess Huaiming would not have appeared in the prison for no reason. How could she have been kidnapped so coincidentally?
"His Highness Prince Xuan and Lord Cui have been gone for a long time. Surely good news will arrive soon?" a minister tried to change the subject.
"Yes, it's been since before dawn. No matter the outcome, they should be back by now..."
Before the minister could finish speaking, a palace attendant rushed in from outside: "Your Majesty, General Lan and Lord Jiang request an audience."
Just then, General Lan and the historian Jiang Minzhi entered from outside. Both of them were covered in wounds, their clothes were tattered, their hair was disheveled, and they looked extremely disheveled.
Jiang Minzhi was helped in by General Lan.
"Your Majesty, I have something to report!" General Lan said, pulling Jiang Minzhi to kneel before the emperor.
They took a detour into the imperial city, dodging countless pursuers along the way. In the end, it was Lan Yi who covered their retreat, and they finally made it here. They couldn't care less about anything else now.
The emperor looked at them.
A courtier asked, "Why are General Lan and Lord Jiang in such a state? Is there something more urgent than Ye Cunsi's rebellion and Princess Huaiming's disappearance? You two are so improperly dressed, yet you come directly to the palace. Do you not respect the Emperor?"
General Lan ignored the minister and said with grief and anger, "Your Majesty, when I heard about Ye Cunsi's rebellion, I dared not delay. So I took Lord Jiang and followed His Highness Prince Xuan's entourage to secretly go up the mountain to find out the truth. But I never expected that the truth... would be such a truth!"
Everyone was shocked; it turned out to be related to Ye Cunsi's rebellion.
Jiang Minzhi took out the indictment from his bosom and presented it with both hands. "Your Majesty, Ye Cunsi did not rebel. He was going to enter the capital last night, but he was deliberately stopped by someone. That person was His Highness Prince Xuan!"
"All of the above charges were heard by your humble servant on the mountain. At that time, your humble servant and General Lan were hiding in the bushes, and no one knew of our existence. His Highness Prince Xuan personally admitted to Princess Jing that he was the one who colluded with the mountain bandits, he was the one who set fire to the prison, he was the one who kidnapped the students, and he was the one who plotted to seize power!"
"He appears to be personally leading troops to investigate the truth and allowing Princess Jing to go with him, but he actually intends to take the opportunity to kill Ye Cunsi and Princess Jing directly. Once the siblings are dead, Prince Xuan can convict them directly!"
Although Jiang Minzhi was thin and looked frail, he spoke these words with righteous indignation and force!
His anger was so real that it infected every minister present, who were all stunned and couldn't come to their senses for a long time.
How is that possible?
His Highness Prince Xuan has never been competitive or greedy since childhood; he's just a glutton who loves to eat. He was only made a king this year, so how could he suddenly do something so ruthless!
Yan Shizheng immediately stepped forward and shouted angrily, "General Lan, Lord Jiang, as officials of the imperial court, you should know that slandering a prince of the current dynasty is a capital offense!"
Jiang Minzhi said, "Of course I know! But there is not a single lie in what I have said or written. Please take a look, Your Majesty!"
He held the indictment high above his head with both hands.
Huaifu took it and presented it to the emperor. The emperor coldly accepted it, his gaze sweeping over it with chilling intensity, and he saw the more detailed contents on it.
Moreover, Jiang Minzhi's record was very messy, with ink spots and bloodstains on it, which shows how critical the situation was at the time.
But it's still unbelievable!
"Your Majesty, Lord Cui and Princess Jing have returned!" another eunuch reported.
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